Page 43 of Cross Point
“Yeah, well, that’s an anomaly.”
She snorted out a laugh. “That still means you have more experience with relationships than I do. From one abnormal chic to another, it’s helping to hear your take on things.”
“Then, my advice? Show them your worst now. The bad, the crazy. Whatever. Don’t hold back if they piss you off or do something you don’t like. Smack them in the face with it. This way, you won’t get more emotionally involved and waste your time if you guys can’t find a way to compromise.”
“Is that what you did with Ash?”
“Kind of. I mean, I told him I was an emotional void, but he didn’t really believe it until I killed a bunch of people in front of him. Since he still wanted to marry me after all that, I decided he was a keeper.”
Trinity chuckled as she shook her head. “I heard about what happened in Costa Rica. I’d say the fuckers who tried to kidnap you and Ash got what they deserved.”
Nikita and Ashton Marks had recently gone to Costa Rica to participate in a friendly survival competition with a few of his friends. The competition had turned deadly when one of those friends had set them up to be abducted for the kidnap and ransom insurance money. But that plan had been blown to hell since the bad guys never expected to go up against someone like Nikita.
“Speaking of, I figured Ash would have come with you to the island.”
“He had to fly back to New York for some meetings. If I’m on the island long enough, he said he would meet me here. By the way, I brought a bag of goodies for you. It’s stashed in my hotel room. I wasn’t sure what you would need, but it should cover you while you are here.”
“Appreciate it.”
“Any updates on who tried to run you off the road?”
Trinity explained what she’d discovered in the paperwork and during her visit to the construction site. Nikita’s brow lifted when she got to the part about the guy sneaking into her hotel room.
“It’s strange. Someone is willing to kill to keep whatever is going on here quiet, but they aren’t exactly hiding the fact that something is wrong with the project.”
“They clearly aren’t criminal masterminds.”
“No, they aren’t.” Trinity recalled what Jackson had told her earlier about the kids at the beach party. “Something else just came up that we might have to look into. Have you heard of a new designer drug called Euphoria?”
Nikita’s expression hardened. “No. What is it?”
Trinity gave her a brief rundown, but there weren’t many details to share. “Apparently, it has been showing up all over Florida over the last few months, and it’s made its way here to the island now. A kid just died at a beach party, and several others got sick. With new party drugs, you know it’s only a matter of time before it spreads everywhere.”
“Shit.”
The conversation paused as their appetizer platter was delivered. The waitress must have been smart enough to realize that small talk wouldn’t be appreciated since she hurried away right after telling them to enjoy their food.
“Do you know who is creating the drug?” Nikita asked.
“Unknown at the moment. The kid bought the drugs on the mainland and brought them to the island. It’s probably one of the cartels, but nothing is confirmed.”
Cartels could be ruthless. They didn’t give a shit about who they hurt or how many lives were lost from using their products. The only thing they cared about was making money. Trinity didn’t bother saying that out loud since Nikita already knew.
“I just heard about the incident this afternoon so I haven’t had time to look into it any deeper yet.” She felt a little twinge of guilt about that. Right after Jackson had informed her about the new drug, she should have called it in. “The police are investigating, but…”
“Yeah, but…”
Trinity bit into a mozzarella stick, letting the steaming melted cheese hang in the air for a few seconds before she shoved the rest of it in her mouth.
Nikita used the jalapeno popper in her hand to point at her. “Since I’m here, I’ll look into the drug case, while you deal with this construction business.”
Trinity raised her glass in a mocking toast. “So much for retirement.”
Chapter Sixteen
Several drinks later, the atmosphere in Siren’s Cove changed when the lights dimmed. Every table in the large space was occupied, mostly by the dinner crowd, but some people were there to drink and listen to the live band that was set up on the stage in the back.
Trinity swayed to the music. “They’re a pretty good cover band.”